The following is an exact transcript of an article taken from 'The guardian' newspaper 25/02/06.

It makes for an interesting read.

Quote:among mysterious celebrity deaths, it is up there with JFK and Elvis.But the myth of Bruce Lee's demise in Hong Kong in 1973 may finally have been solved."The death of bruce Lee, coming at such a young age and in the peak of physical fitness, has given rise to much speculation" said James Filkins, at Cook County examiners office in Chicago, "almost as soon as Lee died rumours began to surface."

The official cause of Lee's death was recorded in the autopsy report as cerebral oedema, or brain swelling.This was supposedly due to his hypersensitivity to a painkiller called equigesic that he had taken that day.But further research suggests the kung-Fu idol may have died from an epileptic condition, first recognised more than 20 years after his death.

The theories began on July 20th-the day he died- when he had been planning to meet his producer, Raymond Chow, and the Australian actor George Lazenby, of James Bond fame, to try and persuade Lazenby to appear in his new film, Game of Death. He never made it to dinner.

The official explanation has never satisfied Lee's fans. "Like James Dean, a death of someone so young gave cult status.He was known as the fittest man alive," said Brian Harrison, head of the Bruce lee Fanclub.

Some speculated that he had been murdered by hong Kong Triads for refusing to pay protection money or by US gangsters for refusing to work in hollywood. A minor actress, Betty Ting Pei, was rumoured to be lee's mistress, something she has always denied. But some suggest he died while making love to her. None of these explanations washes with Dr. Filkins. The autopsy report recorded no evidence of physical injury or street drugs in Lee's system apart from marijuana.There were low levels of the painkiller.

Doctor Filkins thinks the official explanation is also wrong. Drug reactions tend to involve an anaphylactic reaction in which the victims neck swells, he told the American Academy of Sciences in Seattle.Instead, he thinks Lee died of a condition called 'Sudden unexpected death in epilepsy' (SUDEP), which was only recognised in 1995.The condition involves a seizure which stops the heart and lungs. It kills around 500 people a year in the UK, is most common in men aged 20-40 and can be brought on by lack of sleep and stress. "Lee was under a great deal of physical and mental distress at the time," said Dr. Filkins

Jane Hanna, director of the support charity Epilepsy Bereaved, said SUDEP was gaining recognition. "Ten years of campaigning to influence decision makers has seen a seismic shift in thinking and practice on SUDEP in the UK," she said. "But we remain urgently concerned that prevention strategies are not being implemented and that young people are dying as a result."

Article by James Randerson

So, by no means conclusive, but it struck me as a far better theory than all that have gone before.

Quote: 'Sudden unexpected death in epilepsy' (SUDEP), which was only recognised in 1995.The condition involves a seizure which stops the heart and lungs. It kills around 500 people a year in the UK, is most common in men aged 20-40 and can be brought on by lack of sleep and stress.

than why Bruce Lee died.

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We should all take ourselves seriously...and then crumple that image up and toss it out the window.

Quote: 'Sudden unexpected death in epilepsy' (SUDEP), which was only recognised in 1995.The condition involves a seizure which stops the heart and lungs. It kills around 500 people a year in the UK, is most common in men aged 20-40 and can be brought on by lack of sleep and stress.

than why Bruce Lee died.

do you have epilepsy? I wouldnt really worry if you do, according to this site: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/1862740.stm One in 130 UK citizens has epilepsy, and if there are 60 million people in the UK then that means there are 460,000 with epilepsy.

While it still is scary having SUDEP as a possibility, I think that 500 out of 460,000 doesnt effect a large portion of UK epileptics.

Quote:While it still is scary having SUDEP as a possibility, I think that 500 out of 460,000 doesnt effect a large portion of UK epileptics.

SUDEP occurrs in people NOT diagnosed with any form of epilepsy. Grand and petit mall epilepsy tend not to be life threatening as the disruption in brain activity seizures cause do not affect the autonomic nervous system. A death during a 'regular' seisure usually occurs due to the circumstances surrounding an attack (on a flight of stairs, in a bath, driving/using heavy equipment etc).SUDEP is triggered in outwardly non epileptic people, via extreme stressful conditions. A bit like someone with an undiagnosed heart condition can have a heart attack out of the blue though seemingly a fit and healthy person.

500 out of 60,000,000 people per year makes this a very rare condition, but that is no consolation to the families it effects.

I did not post this to scaremonger, it was merely an interesting article. If it results in any of us evaluating our stress levels and sleep patterns then that is a good thing.

physical fitness does not always equate with health, or healthy habits.i personaly have known a national level swimmer, who smoked 30 cigarettes a day. How much his performance would have increased without this self sabotage is anyone's guess, but as it was he was very fit, despite the damage he was doing to his health.Seperate issues.

Personaly I have never bought in to the whole 'superhuman' aspect of Lee's legend. i think he was a good athlete, with a good physique, who applied both to being a good martial artist and entertainer. In much the same way as your childhood summers get more sunny and warm with the passing of every year, so Bruce's physical prowess has improved since the time of his death.

I know that BL had been to the doctor about "blackouts", where he fainted for no apparent reason. I also know that very very fit people with extremely low blood pressure can get woozy or faint from getting up too fast. I don't know if this was the reason, but something like that combined with very high stress levels (remember BL was comparitively poor prior to his Hong Kong movie successes) may have had something to do with it.

_________________________"In case you ever wondered what it's like to be knocked out, it's like waking up from a nightmare only to discover it wasn't a dream." -Forrest Griffin